As night falls and the store closes, Camila and Tae find themselves doing something they used to do similarly to college. They boiled a quick cup of ramen and picked a movie to watch; usually, this movie involved horror or to the extent a goofy horror movie. Camila sat on a separate couch since he had a preferred recliner. Camila found herself unsettled and trapped inside her mind. Tae looked at her perplexed expression and questioned her.

Tae: “Hey, you don’t want to watch “The Haunting of the Were-Rabbit?” I hear the sequel for this is just as bad.”

Camila: “Don’t you think today was a bit too weird?”

Tae: “Camila, it’s Salem, everyone is strange here.”

Camila: “Augh, I know that! But I mean, something about today bothered me… too many weirdos came in today.”

Tae ponders who came into the store today and he felt as though only one person stuck out to him.

Tae: “I mean the only person who sticks out to me was the guy from this morning, the one who like kissed the redhead’s hand. He was a bit peculiar.”

Camila: “Mmmm, honestly…they were all just weird though. Like it was planned or something. I want to hire that redhead and find out more about her.”

Tae: “Camila, we can’t hire someone purely because they’re suspicious. We hav-”

Camila: “Yes, yes, I know! But, the three of them are all…out of place.”

The TV began to flash different horror movie suggestions due to the long pause of inactivity from the remote. Lucky wandered in and leaped onto the couch where Camila was in deep thought. Tae got up from his recliner to sit close to Camila as a source of comfort. She leans in closer to Tae, finally accepting an embrace from him. She sighs and wonders if she is simply just being paranoid.

Tae: “Honestly, I trust you, whenever you have a bad feeling about something you are usually right.”

Camila remained silent, Tae could tell by her facial expression that she remained perplexed about her suggestion. Tae leans in closer, trying to ensure that she feels comfortable and confident in herself.

Tae: “Like…remember when we went out to that new Barbeque restaurant and you told me not to eat anything with cheese? Then I proceeded to eat a cheeseburger and parmesan truffle fries?”

Camila: “Then you proceeded to throw up and shit yourself the rest of the night?” Camila chuckled slightly.

Tae: “Yeah! That was not fun for either of us.”

Camila: “That is an obvious fact though Tae, you’re lactose intolerant!”

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Tae: “No such thing when it comes to cheese!”

They both laughed a bit, reminiscing about that horrid night together. Their smiles and laughter could be considered infectious if others were around to witness it. Their cat curled up on the edge of the couch, sleeping away. Soon though, Camila found herself back in her original train of thought, doubting herself.

Camila: “I am not talking about obvious things though Tae…”

Tae releases a sigh and continues to snuggle against her, attempting to comfort her further.

Tae: “Well what about the time when Lucky was sick and wasn’t eating? Remember when I just thought he was sick of his food, but it turned out he had a bit of a stomach issue because he ate something rotten out of the trash? You were the one who knew something was wrong right away from the get-go!”

Camila: “Again Tae, that was another obvious issue.”

Tae: “Well it was not so obvious to me, but you knew right away something wasn’t right. That’s what I’m trying to tell you silly!”

Camila looks up at Tae, seeing his reassuring look, and lightly pushes his face away in a playful manner. Tae’s glasses slightly slip off and he laughs a bit at the gesture. Camila then goes into detail with Tae about some of her personal life issues.

Camila: “Well, I know I told you briefly about my life…and why I believe in what you Americans know as fairytales?”

Tae nodded silently and waited for Camila to continue, knowing she had to discuss something damaging to her.

Camila: “Well…when I was a child I know what I saw. Vampires destroying my village, burning everything down, and worse killing everyone I ever knew. You want to know the worst part of the whole thing?”

Tae: “You have told me…it breaks my heart every time that you had to go through such things as a child.”

Camila hid her face, Tae knew she was hiding her face so Tae wouldn’t see that tears welled up in her eyes. She kept her face buried in Tae’s arm and Tae rubbed her back slightly. Ensuring that she could take her time on the delicate matter.

Camila: “It was all my fault Tae….as those monsters were killing innocent people and were tearing people limb from limb…those who saw me as they were fleeing blamed me..they knew I was born on a cursed day…and they blamed it all on me. I didn’t know what to do. I was just a useless little girl watching people die around me and it led me to believe…sometimes maybe I misinterpreted things…maybe I am crazy. Maybe it was just a fluke thing and our village was targeted. My obsession with the paranormal…maybe I imagined it all and blamed fictional things because that's what I wanted to believe.”

Camila now looked up at Tae, tears dripping down her face. Tae rubbed the tears from her cheeks and embraced her. Camila accepted the embrace as she poured out her emotions by almost howling in rage and more tears profusely dripped onto Tae’s shirt. Lucky also made note of this and snuggled up to the two of them, purring loudly seeking merely to comfort the couple. Tae noticed this and used his free hand to pet Lucky, rubbing underneath his chin.

Tae: “Cam, you were a kid….you have no right to carry such a burden like this. I do believe you saw something due to how vivid you are with the details. Don’t doubt yourself because of what others think of you…embrace and prove them wrong.”

Camila looked over at Tae, his welcoming face and his soft voice. His gentle hazel eyes and his messy hair, this very moment was why Camila put her trust into Tae. No matter what she knew she could rely on him and in turn, even if he believed her or not, he never made her feel like most others do. She giggled to herself which left Tae confused, but he simply appreciated that she was not crying anymore.

Tae: “Who would’ve thought my funny-lookin’ mug would have you laughing!”

Attempting to push him off of her, he got the hint he needed to scooch, but he decided to test his luck.

Tae: “You want me to leave already? Man and here I thought I was your ogre in shining armor! Making you smile and rescuing you from the land of sadness! Ooooooh wooooe is meeeeee…!”

Camila: “Oh my gosh, will your cheesy ass move back to your seat!”

Tae quickly began to untangle himself from Camila, in doing so, Lucky seemed to jump off the couch confused by the sudden motions. Tae found himself back in the recliner, putting his hand on the handle to swish it back. Occasionally it would swing backward out of control, which happened when Tae’s grip swung the handle backward. This caused him to squeak and crunch the chair back into place until his position was where it needed to be. Finally grabbing the remote to press play, he readied himself and Camila.

Tae: “Now then Cam, are we ready for a night full of fuzzy, but deadly ‘Were Rabbits’ and not laugh at how scary it is?”

Camila: “Yes, let’s watch this horrifying motion picture of the year.”

Both of them laughed at their sarcastic attitudes and settled in for the evening. Camila cracked a smile as Tae hit play and started his humorous and corny commentary throughout the film. Feeling better, Camila joined him in the commentary, ending their night with nothing but hysterics. These nights, however, were something they would soon cherish and without realizing it, their lives would soon dramatically change.